All but one of Canada’s track and field medallists from last summer’s Paris Olympics are back in action at the world athletics championships, in Tokyo from Sept. 13 to 21.
Camryn Rogers, 26, Richmond, B.C.
Olympic hammer champion
Rogers was the first Canadian woman to win Olympic gold in any athletics event in nearly a century and is looking for her third world title, having won in Eugene in 2022 and Budapest in 2023. She’s had a dominant year, winning nine of 10 events and settling for silver just once. She raised the national record to 78.88 metres in July and is ranked No. 1.
- Bruce Arthur
Ethan Katzberg, 23, Nanaimo, B.C.
Olympic hammer champion
The youngest Olympic and world champion in hammer throw had another stellar season, though not quite as dominant as he was heading into Paris, where he was unbeaten in a dozen events dating back to before the 2023 worlds. This year, he’s won six of nine and placed second in the others to throwers who set personal bests this season. He’s ranked No. 1.
- Bruce Arthur
Andre De Grasse, 30, Aaron Brown, 33, Jerome Blake, 30, and Brendon Rodney, 33
Olympic 4x100 relay champions
The Canadians pulled off a stunning victory from lane nine in Paris in a race where the U.S. bungled exchanges and was disqualified, and Jamaica was absent having not advanced out of the semis thanks to its own baton challenges. This foursome has proved time and time again that smooth exchanges, more than pure speed, is the surest ticket to global podiums.
Marco Arop, 26, Edmonton
Olympic 800 silver medallist
In Paris, Arop ran the fastest race of his life (one minute and 41.20 seconds), set a North American record and was out-dipped at the line to miss gold by one hundredth of a second. This year, the reigning world champion has won half his 800-metre events, hitting the podium twice more and missing it twice. He’s ranked No. 2 behind Kenya’s Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi.
- Bruce Arthur
Newman has been forced to train in abandoned tennis courts and marijuana grow-ops. Her ambitious plans would change that for Canadian pole vaulters.
Newman has been forced to train in abandoned tennis courts and marijuana grow-ops. Her ambitious plans would change that for Canadian pole vaulters.
Alysha Newman, 31, Delaware, Ont.
Olympic pole vault bronze medallist
Newman is the only Canadian track and field medallist from the Paris Olympics who isn’t competing in Tokyo. She’s stepped back from elite sport to focus on other ventures, which includes building an indoor training facility for pole vault and field events in the GTA, but plans to be back for the L.A. Games. In Paris, she won the nation’s first pole vault medal since the 1912 Games, and drew global attention with a celebratory twerk during the competition.
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